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madsreb's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this—sharp, devastating and full of a wry wisdom that gets at the truth of gender-based educational and financial inequality. It highlights the gap that affords the privileged the option to follow their dreams, and keeps those less so in an endless cycle of survival. Parts of this shocked me with their clarity, like the passage where Yannie is trying to explain to her niece Kat exactly what it feels like to worry about money: ‘How to convey in the abstract what it means to live with deprivation? Easier to explain colours to a blind person... “The thing you have to try and understand is, it isn’t dramatic. It’s not this big tragedy that hits you all at once, and then it’s all over… There are lots of smaller aspects, every single day. They sort of crowd in on you, and don’t leave room for anything else.” A conveyor belt of constant minor indignities… Your mind yearns towards the beautiful, the complex and intangible, but is drawn ceaselessly down towards the pedestrian and mundane.’
bibliolucinda's review against another edition
3.0
‘I’m the one who’s in charge around here.’
3.5 stars, a very unique and interesting approach to female rage - reading this book feels like an ever-present sense of seething, simmering tension.
3.5 stars, a very unique and interesting approach to female rage - reading this book feels like an ever-present sense of seething, simmering tension.
essjay1's review against another edition
3.0
I particularly enjoyed the rage that seethes out of Yannie towards the unfairness she experiences, the gendered favouritism, the hypocrisy of the wealthy. I also loved seeing a book that moved so effortlessly between Malaysia and Australia. This is a quiet, shrewdly observed case study of a family via the perspective of one woman, and how her friendships, her love life, her education opportunities and her subsequent work are all dictated by her familial obligations. So far none of the books I have read on the Stella long list seem to be the same calibre as past years. Although I think this author will go on to win many awards. Her writing is very good.
annoeing's review against another edition
4.0
the cover has nothing to do with the contents of the book but its creative and i thought it was a very cool design
jazzied's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
4.5
This hit so hard.
A bleak, hopeful, upsetting ode to living, growing, yearning.
The definition of simmering female rage.
Extremely memorable
My copy is extremely annotated, here are some gems:
"The velocity with which she continued to speed toward death astounded her"
"I forsake not one thing, not one form of pleasure nor beauty. I will have it all, I will have everything this world can contain or else I will have nothing."
"Conflict-avoidant men, she thought, as eternal as the tide."
"It is possible to love a person, a place, a time, without wanting to remain there."
"They are 'Just Friends', a category even lower than ordinary acquaintances."
"It can't be possible to yearn for somebody this much and still not have them. But the bed remains empty."
"If she stops concentrating, she fears, she will levitate, nothing left to anchor her to this earth"
A bleak, hopeful, upsetting ode to living, growing, yearning.
The definition of simmering female rage.
Extremely memorable
My copy is extremely annotated, here are some gems:
"The velocity with which she continued to speed toward death astounded her"
"I forsake not one thing, not one form of pleasure nor beauty. I will have it all, I will have everything this world can contain or else I will have nothing."
"Conflict-avoidant men, she thought, as eternal as the tide."
"It is possible to love a person, a place, a time, without wanting to remain there."
"They are 'Just Friends', a category even lower than ordinary acquaintances."
"It can't be possible to yearn for somebody this much and still not have them. But the bed remains empty."
"If she stops concentrating, she fears, she will levitate, nothing left to anchor her to this earth"
ashybear02's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Self harm